The four-team tournament takes place in Apia, Samoa from 7-11 October 2014 with direct entry to the 2015 OFC Champions League Group Stage in Fiji next April up for grabs.
Just one team is making a return to the competition from last year, Tonga champions Lotoha’apai United, with FC Samoan Korean Baptist Church (ASA), Puaikura FC (COK) and Lupe Ole Soaga SC (SAM) all making their debuts.
OFC Competitions Manager Michael Song says with three new sides in the line-up the results will be hard to judge.
“Last year we saw the competition come down to wire with Tupapa Maraerenga needing a draw or a win to defeat Kiwi FC of Samoa however a comprehensive 3-0 victory to Kiwi saw them head off last year’s favourites,” Song says.
“Coming into the third edition of this tournament in its current format, direct entry is once again on the table meaning all four sides are in with a good chance.
“This should translate to some competitive, entertaining football from every encounter.”
The most experienced of this year’s entries Tonga’s Lotoha’apai United competed in the final stages of the 1999 and 2001 OFC Club Championships in Fiji and Papua New Guinea but missed out on the play-off match in 2013 after finishing second to Tupapa Maraerenga on goal difference and experienced mixed results in 2013 which ultimately saw them eliminated from contention.
After unseating long-time champions in their home nations, the remaining trio from Samoa, American Samoa and Cook Islands will be out to prove they can take the step up to the next level.
The round-robin competition will be held in the Samoan capital of Apia from 7-11 October at Joseph S. Blatter Football Complex in Tuanaimato.
The tournament will play out over three match days, with two matches per day kicking off at 4.30pm and 7pm on the 7 and 9 October, with kick off at 3pm and 5.30pm on 11 October.
The two previous editions of the OFC Champions League Preliminary competition saw Vanuatu champions Tafea FC qualify for the competition proper in 2007-08, while AS Mont Dore of New Caledonia won last season’s tournament in a play-off with a 3-1 victory over Tupapa Maraerenga to advance to the group stages.
In 2013 Kiwi FC of Samoa qualified for direct entry after finishing with the most points to advance directly to the Group Stage in Fiji. They became the first team from American Samoa, Cook Islands, Tonga or Samoa to qualify for the latter stages of the OFC Champions League since 2001 when Tonga’s Lotoha’apai, Samoa’s Titavi FC, Cook Islands Tupapa Maraerenga and PanSa of American Samoa participated in the OFC Club Championship in Port Moresby in 2001.
The winner of the Preliminary joins 11 other clubs in Fiji for the Group Stage in April 2015, including Auckland City FC and Team Wellington of New Zealand, plus the champion clubs of Solomon Islands, New Caledonia and Papua New Guinea.
The champion and runners-up clubs from Tahiti, Vanuatu and host nation Fiji complete the line-up.
The winner of the OFC Champions League 2015 represents OFC at the FIFA Club World Cup 2015.
The draw is as follows:
Match Day 1
7 October, 2014
FC Samoan Korean Baptist Church v Puaikura FC
16h30
Lotoha’apai United v Lupe Ole Soaga SC
19h00
Match Day 2
9 October, 2014
FC Samoan Korean Baptist Church v Lotoha’apai United
16h30
Lupe Ole Soaga SC v Puaikura FC
19h00
Match Day 3
11 October, 2014
Puaikura FC v Lotoha’apai United
15h00
Lupe Ole Soaga SC v FC Samoan Korean Baptist Church
17h30
*Simultaneous kick-off may be enforced on Match Day 3

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